HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 45 Sacrifice

Beside the altar in the middle of the forest

The giant lion leaned against a withered tree, waiting for a distinguished guest from afar. The once-corrupted land was now covered with flowers.

The moment he stepped into the central circle, Emeric's magic stopped growing, his body grew uncontrollably, reverting to the appearance of a 14-year-old, and all his memories returned.

"I'm sorry, Severus has caused you a lot of trouble these past few days. I'll handle things on my own from now on."

"If Mr. Emerick isn't out of his mind, he should know that his two fathers hired that poor Potions professor as his guardian."

Severus was very upset to hear that the connection had been severed. The person who had always chosen him had suddenly abandoned him, even if it was because they didn't want to drag him down.

He ignored Emeric, grabbed his wand, and strode inside, looking like he was about to fight someone—he was definitely not someone to mess with. The small animals following him scattered in fright, not wanting to lose their lives before they even had a chance to groom themselves.

He dared to do this because he discovered that the animals here didn't like to hurt people, and the sachet in his pocket was made of flowers from Emeric's antlers, and Severus believed in his own strength.

"Severus, wait for me, I'm not used to my hair growing so long all of a sudden."

"Severus, slow down! Don't walk so fast, I can't keep up!!!"

Emeric rushed forward and grabbed Severus's hand. Thankfully, he wasn't so angry that he couldn't even touch him. In fact, he knew he was in trouble the moment the words left his mouth. His professor hated being left behind, no matter the reason. What he had just said was like dancing in Severus's minefield.

"Severus, are you interested in the Albanian Beast King? If I'm not mistaken, it should be waiting for me at the altar right now. It probably sensed me as soon as I entered the forest. If not the lion's mane, how about the lion's claws, or something else?"

"When we get home, I'll bake you a berry pie, okay? The berries we picked here are so sweet, it'll definitely taste delicious as a pie. We can make jam from the rest, so when school starts and we don't have time to eat, we can use the jam to line our bread."

During puberty, the voice becomes slightly hoarse, and the originally sweet topic takes on a bittersweet flavor because of this hoarseness.

The man walking ahead, sulking, slowed down upon hearing about the berry pie. He accepted Emeric's signal for reconciliation: "Put some lemon juice in the berry pie, don't be like that old bee who only likes sweet things, and put less sugar in the jam too."

After eating the food he liked for a long time, Severus had no desire to eat in Hogwarts' dining halls, even though the professors could order food and he had eaten at all the restaurants over the years.

There's no need to upset yourself and hurt your stomach, especially since Emeric is a good cook and always knows what Severus wants to eat.

The two chatted as they walked, and the menu for the week that followed was born. Along the way, Emeric discovered many delicious wild vegetables and picked a lot of tasty, non-toxic fruits for Severus to try.

What was clearly a dangerous forest was transformed into a leisurely stroll by the two of them. Before the giant lion could reach its breaking point, they finally arrived at the edge of the altar.

Severus pulled Emeric, who was trying to get closer, and stared into his eyes. "Take care of yourself. If anything seems wrong, leave immediately. We've accomplished what we came here for."

"I will. Severus, don't take off this ring. The tracking device will allow me to find you quickly."

After saying this, Emeric took a deep breath and stood on the altar. He cut his wrist and dripped his blood into the pool in the center of the altar.

The bright red blood quickly stained the pool water red, Emeric's horns appeared on his head, the flowers on the vines bloomed more brightly, the crown on his head gradually blossomed into a flower crown, and his waist-length hair also grew longer, soon covering the ground beneath his feet.

As the blood dripped, a strange, herbal fragrance spread around. Severus tensed, gripping his wand tightly, afraid that the wild beasts nearby might lose their minds because of the scent.

Emeric stopped the bleeding. Following the procedure in his inherited memories, he needed to inject magic into the pool and wait until the magic turned the blood green before stopping.

He turned to Severus and said, "Don't be afraid of anything I do from now on, Severus. I'll be fine." He clearly remembered that he had frightened Severus before, so now he had to tell him in advance before doing anything.

A surge of life force, accompanied by magic, flowed into the pool, and one after another, the wild beasts leaped onto the nearby pillars, looking exactly like the animals already on them.

More translucent animals bowed to Emerick before merging into the surrounding pillars, their scattered spirits transforming into numerous specks of light that dispersed in all directions.

Severus carefully dodged the points of light, but one too many passed through his body. His mental fatigue left him along with the light, and the blockage in his magical flow was greatly reduced.

Having discovered that these things were harmless to his body, Severus allowed them to approach him, and Emeric in the center of the altar began the next step.

He picked up the bottle that suddenly appeared in the pool, drank the medicine inside in one gulp, then cut off a lock of his hair and threw it into the water. As the hair dissolved, rain began to fall from the sky.

Green raindrops fell to the ground, the grass grew wildly, seeds hidden in the soil pushed their way out of the mud, and colorful flowers bloomed all over the meadow, weaving a colorful carpet.

Emeric stepped barefoot onto the floral carpet, approached the stunned Severus, pulled him to the edge of the pool, and put his hand into the water.

"Severus, quickly put your magic into the water before the water recedes completely."

Although he didn't know what Emeric was going to do, Severus stared into Emeric's eyes and couldn't refuse. Resignedly, he sent some magic into the water, and soon he felt something watching him.

"I'm willing to share this with him, and the fact that he'll be there for me is the best proof of that, isn't it?"

"I don't care, it's no use if you disagree, he has already put the magic into the water."

The eerie gaze quickly disappeared. Severus didn't intend to ask Emeric what he meant at this moment. Clearly, someone had tried to stop Emeric, but had no choice but to agree due to the bratty kid's unreasonable demands.

When the water in the pool disappeared, the rain stopped, and all the strange phenomena around him vanished. Emeric skillfully braided his hair into a plait, preparing to have a stylist trim it when he got home.

"Severus, let's go. I'll explain when we get home. It's safe in the forest now. Is there anything else you want? Summer vacation has only lasted three weeks; we have plenty of time."

"There's nothing else I need. Let's go back first. We can always come back, right?"

Severus felt a stronger connection with the forest, as if he could sense its breath and heartbeat. He wanted to know why, which was probably related to the magic he had put into the water.